Author: Gloria Addo

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has announced intentions to implement paternity leave as part of labor reforms under the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s proposed Labour Bill for 2024. Male employees may request paternity leave within three months of the wife’s or surrogate’s childbirth or following the adoption of a child under one year old. To qualify, male employees must provide proof of birth or adoption to their employer. Upon approval, the employer is required to grant a minimum of five days of paternity leave, effective from the specified date in the application. However, a worker cannot be…

A team of researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science, Imperial College London, and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have discovered a possible drug that can increase lifespan by 20–25% after conducting an experiment in mice. In preclinical research, the group discovered that as people aged, their organs released higher amounts of the interleukin-11 (IL-11) protein, which encouraged the build-up of fat in the liver and belly and decreased muscle mass and strength two characteristics that are significant in the aging in humans. Professor Stuart Cook and his associates tested this theory by injecting 37 mice with a medication…

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun the 2024 Mass Drug Administration (MDA) Campaign against Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, and Lymphatic Filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, in the disease-endemic districts across the country. The initiative aimed at combating these neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030 is targeted at 5.8 million and 440,000 individuals aged 5 years and older, excluding pregnant women, in 77 Onchocerciasis endemic districts and 3 Lymphatic Filariasis endemic districts across the country. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, the Director-General of the Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, revealed that the main strategy for controlling and…

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is cautioning the general public to be on the lookout for a new disease called Dengue Fever after the confirmation of nine cases in the Eastern Region. This emergency call came after suspected cases of Malaria did not respond to antimalarial treatment leading to further investigation. Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) confirmed the samples sent from patients exhibiting acute febrile illnesses as Dengue Fever cases. In view of this, healthcare professionals have urged the use of caution and adherence to guidelines for monitoring cases related to dengue fever in individuals who exhibit an…

The first Hepatitis C virus self-test, the OraQuick HCV, made by OraSure Technologies, has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO). This product, meant for laypeople, is an extension of the pre-qualified OraQuick® HCV Rapid Antibody Test developed by OraSure Technologies. It comes in a single kit with all the items needed to perform a self-test. Hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver is caused by the hepatitis C virus. This virus causes acute and chronic hepatitis, with severity ranging from a minor disease. Dr. Meg Doherty, WHO Director of the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STI Programmes, stated…

In an effort to protect public health, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) is calling on the Federal Government to ban the open sale of drugs in marketplaces. Mr. Chris Oisakede, Chairman of the PSN, emphasized that the availability of drugs in open markets contributes to the increasing drug abuse among youths. In his appeal, he stated, “I am concerned at the devastating effects of drug abuse on youths, but the ease with which drugs are available in the open market is worrisome.” Oisakede urged the government to implement a structured redistribution system that would encourage prescription-only sales to curb drug…

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have found in a recent study that tampons may be bad for women’s health because they contain dangerous metals. Several tampon brands were examined for lead, zinc, arsenic, and cadmium metal content during the research process. All of the tampons included lead and zinc, with zinc having the greatest concentration at 52,000 ng/g (nanogram per gram), as reported by the research. “Any amount of lead that may leak out of a tampon and enter the systemic circulation could have a detrimental effect on health. There is no safe level of exposure to lead.…

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is anticipating that Ghanaians will be able to benefit from a free annual medical check-up under a projected universal health coverage plan set to be achieved before 2030. At the core of NHIA’s strategy is the introduction of preventive healthcare measures, which will soon be assimilated into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claim package. Under this initiative, every Ghanaian who signs up for the program will get the chance to have an annual check-up on their birthday, with the goal of detecting and treating noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension early on. This…

Genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes will shortly be introduced in Kenya by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) and Imperial College London in an effort to prevent the development of an invasive species that transfers malaria. According to Kemri researchers, their goal is to restrict the spread of malaria by utilizing genetic techniques, particularly gene drive. In a lab, the Centers for Disease Control creates genetically modified mosquitoes that are equipped with two genes: one that limits the ability of female mosquito offspring to reach adulthood, and the other that identifies the insects when they lay eggs in the wild. GM…

The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has lamented the increasing number of mother-to-child HIV transmissions despite initiatives put in place to eliminate it, such as the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program. The Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) is one of the interventions instituted by the NACP, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), and their partners to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to their babies. With this intervention, pregnant women would have to get tested for HIV at an Antenatal care service and those found positive would be put on medication to protect the baby from getting infected.           Programme Manager of…